Mixed-scale electronic interface

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to mixed-scale electronic interfaces, included in integrated circuits and other electronic devices, that provide for dense electrical interconnection between microscale features of a predominantly microscale or submicroscale layer and nanoscale features of a predominantly nanoscale layer. The predominantly nanoscale layer, in one embodiment of the present invention, comprises a tessellated pattern of submicroscale or microscale pads densely interconnected by nanowire junctions between sets of parallel, closely spaced nanowire bundles. The predominantly submicroscale or microscale layer includes pins positioned complementarily to the submicroscale or microscale pads in the predominantly nanoscale layer. Pins can be configured according to any periodic tiling of the microscale layer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part to U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 342,076, filed Jan. 27, 2006.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention is related to integrated circuits and other electronic devices and, in particular, to a mixed-scale interface suitable for densely interconnecting nanoscale electronics with microscale electronics within an integrated circuit or other electronic device. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] As manufacturers and designers of integrated circuits continue to relentlessly decrease the size of integrated-circuit features, such as transistors and signal lines, and to correspondingly increase the density at which features can be fabricated within integrated circuits, they are beginning to approach fundamental physical limits to further decreases in feature sizes for integrated circuits fabricated by conventional photolithography techniques. Research efforts have, during the past decade, turned to new,...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

In many cases, devising reliable and cost-effective interfaces between microscale and submicroscale electronics and nanoscale electronics has proven to be more difficult than the design and fabrication of nanoscale electronic devices.

Demultiplexer-based nanoscale / microscale interfaces may therefore represent significant bandwidth bottlenecks within mixed-scale microelectronic devices.

The demultiplexer-based approach may additionally add design and fabrication overheads, cost, and reliability problems to mixed-scale electronic devices with densely interconnected microscale and nanoscale circuits and functional modules.

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